The Vatican has stated its opposition to an Italian bill that would help protect LGBT+ people from discrimination in an “unprecedented” move. Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Vatican’s foreign minister, claimed that the proposed anti-discrimination law would breach a treaty between Italy and the Vatican that was signed almost a century ago, the Corriere della Sera newspaper reported on Tuesday (22 June). The proposed law – dubbed the Zan Law after the politician and LGBT+ rights activist who drafted it – would extend anti-discrimination protections to women, LGBT+ people and those with disabilities. It passed through the lower house in November 2020 but has stalled in the Senate. The bill would also punish those who deliberately target LGBT+ people because of their identities. The Vatican has objected to the law because it would also require Catholic schools in Italy to mark a day dedicated to fighting homophobia and transphobia, according to Associated Press. Gallagher is said to have made the argument in a letter to the Italian ambassador to the Holy See last week.